Geingob mourns friend Theo-Ben Gurirab

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President Hage Geingob has mourned the late veteran diplomat and former speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab, who died on Saturday at the age of 80.President Hage Geingob has mourned the late veteran diplomat and former speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab, who died on Saturday at the age of 80.

In a statement, Geingob said Gurirab, who was Namibia’s first foreign minister and second prime minister was “a friend, a comrade and giant of the Namibian struggle for liberation”.“Without the country’s first foreign minister, and one of the leading architects of Namibia’s diplomacy, a rich chapter is closing,” Geingob said.The president said the exceptional work of Gurirab in service of the liberation movement, SWAPO and the Namibian people shall be cherished forever.Gurirab, who retired from public service in 2015, announced last year that he wanted to write a book detailing the incredible story of how Namibia gained its independence, through his eyes.“I am organising my mind to tackle this task one day - hopefully sooner, rather than later, because I want to share this incredible story about Namibia’s independence, through my eyes.“I want to start with my encounters as a young boy born in a village close to Usakos, and tell the story of my work internationally, and the struggle we went through, leading up to Namibia’s independence, right to where we are now.“I was born an optimist, which led me to unite with comrades, who joined forces to echo what impact the colonial regime was having on our lives,” Gurirab said.Gurirab, together with Geingob and Hamutenya were known as the ‘Swapo Trio’ during the liberation struggle, as they served in various capacities internationally, petitioning for the independence of Namibia.They were also the key drafters of the Namibian Constitution.Gurirab is survived by his wife, Joan Guriras, and five children.